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Monday, 18 March 2013

Jim's column 16.3.2013

Coventry City's topsy-turvy season continued this week and
is actually getting a little predictable. The Sky Blues impressive away form
continued with an away win at Scunthorpe, a club record 11th league win on the
road beating the 10 by Noel Cantwell's Europe-bound team in 1969-70. Then,
three days later, the depressing home form continued with a 2-2 draw with lowly
Colchester United. Yet another late goal by Carl Baker saved City's bacon and
kept the embers of the play-off fire glowing slightly. It will need a miracle
or a serious collapse by at least two of the teams ahead of them in the table
for the Sky Blues to seal a place even if administration is avoiced. They
probably can't afford to lose more than two of the remaining eight games and
having failed to win three league games in a row all season that seems too tall
an order. No City team has won three consecutive league games since December
2010 when, under Aidy Boothroyd, home wins over Burnley & Middlesbrough
sandwiched a win at Scunthorpe.

The away form continues to be impressive and another club
record is just around the corner - most away goals in a season. The record was
set in 1963-64, the Third Division Championship season, when the team won eight
away games and scored 36 goals. The current team have scored 34 goals on the
road and look certain to overhaul the record. One would have thought City's
team of the early 1930s would have scored more away goals - between 1931 &
1936 Harry Storer's team scored 100 goals in four out of five seasons but
Storer's team's strength was at home where they scored 70 or more goals in
those four seasons. The best away haul by the 'Old Five' team was 34 in 1931-32
(Clarrie Bourton's golden season when he scored 49 league goals) when ironically
they won only one away game all season.

I would like to welcome Sky Blues' new manager Steven
Pressley who arrived last week from Falkirk. Pressley is City's fifth manager
of the season, easily a record, even for Coventry City. The most managers in a
season previously was in 2003-04 when Gary McAllister stood down owing to his
wife's health, replaced by Eric Black who was then cruelly jettisoned by the
board in favour of Peter Reid who had just one game in charge (a fine win over
play-off bound Crystal Palace). Pressley is the 38th permanent manager of the
club since the club joined the Football League in 1919 and the 12th since the
club left the Premiership in 2001. He is also the 10th former City player to be
given the job, the others being Jimmy McIntyre, Billy Frith, Bobby Gould,
George Curtis, John Sillett, Gordon Strachan, Roland Nilsson, Gary McAllister
and Micky Adams. I don't count Terry Butcher who was recruited as
Player-Manager. In addition, as Ken Foster, several other former players have been
'caretaker' managers including Lee Carsley, Richard Shaw, Steve Ogrizovic,
Trevor Peake and Charlie Elliott. Coincidentally Pressley and I have something
in common - we were both born in Elgin, Scotland, albeit 21 years apart.

Ed Blackaby found the article about Coventry City's loan
players interesting and sent me his Best Loan XI, which I find hard to argue
too much with:

Luke Steele

-------------

Richard Duffy

Dean Leacock

Gary Caldwell

Stephen Warnock

---------------

Jordan Henderson

James Bailey

Oliver Norwood

Jack Cork

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David McGoldrick

Craig Hignett

Personally I was not a big fan of Cork and would prefer
Johnnie Jackson to him in midfield and Marton Fulop would get my nod in goal.

Ed also wanted to know if Errington Kelly, who was in the
1983-84 team picture, ever played a first team game for the Sky Blues. Born on
the island of St Vincent in the Caribbean, Kelly had been on the books of
Bristol Rovers under Bobby Gould, prior to Gouldy's first spell as manager in
1983. Kelly joined the Sky Blues that summer and did feature in a couple of
pre-season friendlies but failed to break through to the first team. In early
1984 he joined Peterborough and made over 100 appearances over five seasons.

Sue Standbridge sent me an old Coventry City team picture
and asked if I could help with the players' names as her parents were
scratching their heads over most of the players.

The picture is from 1948-49 season and the players (and
officials) are as follows:

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About Me

I have supported Coventry City FC since my first visit to Highfield Road in 1962. I am the club's official historian and have a regular column in the Coventry Telegraph. Here I would like to enable my readers who can't buy the paper to access my columns and comment.